Silent Society

silence falls trembling with uncertainty
empty streets trapped in the past
as fear sweeps the world
gaining speed and strength
a new wave of the virus, perhaps?
no one knows

we can fix this—or so we thought
we don’t need Social Distancing
too drastic, too boring
we’re invincible

people took to the streets, angry and confident
but many succumbed and died
society couldn’t cope
the system broke down
along with the world’s resources

now houses lies abandoned
except for memories
and corpses and broken skeletons
and ghosts, unseeing and uncaring